Shinraj Toyota win MiD DAY Corporate Cricket League

Shinraj Toyota emerged champions in the third Pearls Global Arena MiD DAY Corporate Cricket League at Parsee Gymkhana, Marine Lines on Saturday after registering a seven-wicket win over Nirlon Limited.

High on sixes: Shinrai Toyota’s Javed Shaikh, adjudged best batsman in the final, celebrates after slamming a six to give his team victory over Nirlon Ltd and the MCCL title at Parsee Gymkhana

Shinrai won the toss and elected to field. Nitin Kadam batted with precision and made 30 off 19 balls (3x4, 1x6). Supporting acts from opener Deepak Gaikwad (14) and Saurabh Singh (13) helped Nirlon post a total of 95 for the loss of four wickets in the stipulated 10 overs.

Dilesh strikes Earlier, Nirlon opener Ankit Chavan was caught by Lalit Holebadi off Dilesh Devrukhkar for just nine in the fourth over. In the fifth, Deepak Gaikwad was run out by Girish Kochrekar. Nirlon were 60 for three by the end of the seventh over.

We are the champions: The victorious Shinrai Toyota team celebrate after beating Nirlon Ltd in the final of the MiD DAY Corporate Cricket League at the Parsee Gymkhana on Saturday. Shinrai Toyota won by seven wickets. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Captain Rahul Sagar scored 10 runs in the ninth over by hitting a towering six and a four to take the total to 83. Off the last ball of the 10th over, Shinrai pacer Girish Kochrekar managed to get the wicket of Raju Sharma.

In reply, Shinrai reached the target with eight balls to spare. Shinrai lost opener Satish Dhule (10) when he misjudged a slower delivery from Nirlon pacer Nikhil Bagal in the second over.

The second blow for Shinrai came in the fifth over when Aziz Shaikh (4) was caught at long off by Saurabh Singh off spinner Rahul Sagar. Lalit Holebadi stabilised Shinrai’s innings as he kept rotating the strike. His 22-ball 30 included three sixes.

Shinrai Toyota’s Dilesh Devrukhkar

Shinrai were 71 for the loss of three wickets at the end of seven overs. Javed Shaikh hit a six in the ninth over to wrap up the proceedings. Shaikh’s quickfire 20 helped him bag the best batsman award. Shinrai pacer Dilesh Devrukhkar (1-10) walked away with the best bowler award. Serco spinner Ajit Gopalakrishnan was adjudged player of the tournament. Shinrai walked away with the winner’s cheque of Rs one lakh while Nirlon earned Rs 50,000.

Sonu’s day out Bollywood actor Sonu Sood mingled with the corporate crowd and impressed everyone with his batting skills before the presentation ceremony. He faced up to a few deliveries from some MiD DAY staffers. Giving him company on the dais was former India cricket captain Dilip Vengsarkar.

During the prize distribution, Sood said that that he harboured dreams of becoming a cricketer before taking up acting. “Both teams played like professional cricketers and I enjoyed every bit of the time spent here. I wanted to become a cricketer before the acting bug hit me,” said Sood.

Vengsarkar praised MiD DAY’s initiative to provide a platform to cricketers through this event. He said: “Cricket is a stress-buster and this tournament provides the corporate world an opportunity to bond with each other. I hope MiD DAY continues their support to all sports including cricket.”

The pulsating MiD DAY Mumbai anthem in the background and some fine commentary from Dr Gokul Singh kept the spectators engrossed throughout the day.

Pearls’ Shah has big plans for MCCL Pearls Global Arena MiD DAY Corporate Cricket League (MCCL) came to an end with Shinrai Toyota emerging champions in the third edition. The month-long tourney that saw the participation of 18 teams would not have been possible without the support of Dharmesh Shah, director of Pearls Global Arena.

Speaking about his association with MCCL, Shah said: “I used to be a part of my college cricket team, but lost touch with the game once I got into the construction business.

This (MCCL) was a great way to re-connect with the sport. I will ensure we make this event bigger and better in the next edition with more teams. But, we’d like to change the timing of MCCL and keep it during Christmas as the weather is nice then.”

As for the final, Shah said: “I predicted that the team batting first (Nirlon) would win, but as they say, anything is possible in cricket. Shinrai Toyota won in style.”

Top man: MiD DAY Infomedia Ltd Managing Director & CEO Manajit Ghoshal presents the award to MCCL’s player of the tournament Ajit Gopalakrishnan, captain of the Serco team that lost in the semi-finals of the tournament

Up in the air: MiD DAY Infomedia Ltd’s executive editor Sachin Kalbag flips the coin at the toss before the final as Nirlon Ltd’s skipper Rahul Sagar (left) and Shinrai Toyota’s captain Noah Ashtamkar (green) looks on